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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Brand Focus: Alaffia

Alaffia is a Washington state-based, sustainable and natural skincare company which was founded to help West African communities become sustainable through the fair trade of indigenous resources, especially handcrafted, unrefined shea butter. Alaffia is Fair For Life-certified and committed to empowering individuals through a range of projects, including Bicycles for Education and Maternal Health to help reduce maternal death rates in central Togo.

I first heard of the company while browsing for neem oil at my local Whole Foods. When I got home, I researched Alaffia online and was quite impressed with its morals, so I decided to try some more products. After I ran out of face wash, I purchased their Rooibos & Shea Butter Antioxidant Cleanser ($13.95), and recently also got their Shea Butter Body Milk ($11.95) in the Vanilla Almond scent.

As some of you may recall, I featured Alaffia's Rooibos & Shea Butter Antioxidant Cleanser in my 2010 Best Beauty Buys post, and for a good reason. I still think it's absolutely fabulous: it has a silky smooth texture that melts away impurities while leaving my face soft and clean - but not squeaky clean! It's also subtly scented with ylang ylang essential oil, which makes using it a pleasure. In the 'natural cleansers' category, I do like it better than Bioelements All Things Pure face wash because of the smoother texture and better smell; plus, it's a fraction of the price!

I also enjoy using the Shea Butter Body Milk very much, although I wouldn't exactly call it a 'body milk'. It's more like a rich lotion which seems to have something of a whipped texture, and it takes a while to spread out on the skin. Once it sinks in however, my skin instantly feels rehydrated. The lotion mainly contains unrefined shea butter like most of Alaffia's products, which has the maximum amount of healing, moisturizing and anti-ageing properties. As for the scent, I can't smell much of vanilla in it, the almond notes are definitely stronger, plus I can also feel sweet orange which is listed among the ingredients. It just smells like... orange marzipan, quite delicious really. I'd love to try some more scents!

All in all, my experiences with the company are very positive and I will continue to buy their products, supporting their goal of helping those in need. I definitely recommend you take a look at Alaffia's shelf while grocery shopping, or browse their products online.

I was a devoted Dr Hauschka user. Then I went on a trip and forgot to take my stuff with me. Unfortunately I used the skin soap the hotel used. Big mistake as I seemed to be allergic to some ingredient (or maybe there was too much bleach in the washrag). After putting antibiotic ointment all around my eyes I went to whole foods to get some Dr. Hauschka. Not wanting full size containers because I had them at home and they don't have preservatives in them I got the trial sample to make it through the rest of my trip. The SA suggested Alaffia. Had never heard of it. She gave me a sample in a little jar to take with me. I went back to the hotel, tried to wash my face. Even the Dr. Hauschka burned my eyes!! With much trepidation, I tried the Alaffia - no burn. I went back the next day and bought the entire skin routine. LOVE it!! No problems with my very sensitive skin.